Performance-temperature optimization by cooperatively varying the voltage and frequency of a circuit
First Claim
1. A method of using thermal feedback to cooperatively vary a voltage and a frequency applied to a synchronous circuit to control heating while maintaining synchronization, said method comprising the steps of:
- generating a temperature signal which is a function of a temperature associated with the circuit;
comparing the temperature signal with a predetermined temperature threshold signal;
cooperatively varying the voltage and the frequency of the circuit to a predetermined voltage-frequency pair, responsive to said step of comparing; and
varying the switching factor of the circuit wherein the switching factor is a fraction of clock cycles that the circuit is dissipating power, responsive to said step of comparing.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A system and method using thermal feedback to cooperatively vary a voltage and frequency of a circuit to control heating while maintaining synchronization. Preferably, on-chip thermal sensors are used for feedback. A system having features of the invention includes: a thermal sensor coupled to the circuit, the thermal sensor generating a temperature signal which is a function of a temperature associated with the functional unit; a temperature decoder having an input and an output, the input coupled to the thermal sensor for decoding the temperature signal; a comparator having one input coupled to the decoder for comparing a decoded temperature signal with a predetermined temperature threshold signal coupled to a second input, the comparator enabling a voltage/clock control signal as a function of the decoded temperature signal and the predetermined temperature threshold; an adjustable voltage regulator coupled to the voltage/clock control signal; and a clock selector coupled to the voltage/clock control signal; wherein the voltage regulator and the clock selector are adapted to cooperatively vary the voltage and the frequency of the circuit to a predetermined voltage-frequency pair, responsive to the voltage/clock control signal and switching factor means, coupled to the comparator, for varying the switching factor of the circuit, wherein the switching factor is the fraction of clock cycles that the circuit is dissipating power.
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Citations
12 Claims
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1. A method of using thermal feedback to cooperatively vary a voltage and a frequency applied to a synchronous circuit to control heating while maintaining synchronization, said method comprising the steps of:
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generating a temperature signal which is a function of a temperature associated with the circuit; comparing the temperature signal with a predetermined temperature threshold signal; cooperatively varying the voltage and the frequency of the circuit to a predetermined voltage-frequency pair, responsive to said step of comparing; and varying the switching factor of the circuit wherein the switching factor is a fraction of clock cycles that the circuit is dissipating power, responsive to said step of comparing. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. A method of using thermal feedback to cooperatively vary a voltage and a frequency applied to a synchronous circuit to control heating while maintaining synchronization, wherein the circuit comprises a plurality of functional units for processing data in a data processing system, the method comprising the steps of:
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generating a first temperature signal for a first functional unit and a second temperature signal for a second functional unit, each temperature signal being a function of a temperature associated with said each functional unit; identifying the first functional unit and the second functional unit associated with said each temperature signal, responsive to said generating step; comparing the first temperature signal with a first predetermined temperature threshold signal; cooperatively varying the voltage and the frequency of the functional unit to a predetermined voltage-frequency pair, responsive to said step of comparing; and varying the switching factor of the circuit wherein the switching factor is a fraction of clock cycles that the circuit is dissipating power, responsive to said step of comparing.
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8. A system using thermal feedback to cooperatively vary a voltage and a frequency applied to a synchronous circuit to control heating while maintaining synchronization, said system comprising:
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a thermal sensor coupled to the circuit, the thermal sensor generating a temperature signal which is a function of a temperature associated with the functional unit; a temperature decoder having an input and an output, the input coupled to the thermal sensor for decoding the temperature signal; a comparator having one input coupled to the decoder for comparing a decoded temperature signal with a predetermined temperature threshold signal coupled to a second input, the comparator enabling a voltage/clock control signal as a function of the decoded temperature signal and the predetermined temperature threshold; an adjustable voltage regulator coupled to the voltage/clock control signal; a clock selector coupled to the voltage/clock control signal;
wherein the voltage regulator and the clock selector are adapted to cooperatively vary the voltage and the frequency of the circuit to a predetermined voltage-frequency pair, responsive to the voltage/clock control signal; andswitching factor means for varying the switching factor of the circuit wherein the switching factor is a fraction of clock cycles that the circuit is dissipating power, wherein the switching factor means is coupled to the comparator. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 12)
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11. A system using thermal feedback to cooperatively vary a voltage and frequency of a synchronous circuit to control heating while maintaining synchronization, wherein the circuit comprises a plurality of functional units for processing data stored in a memory, the system comprising:
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thermal sensor means for generating a first temperature signal for a first functional unit and a second temperature signal for a second functional unit, each temperature signal being a function of a temperature associated with said each functional unit; control logic means for identifying the first functional unit and the second functional unit associated with said each temperature signal; a comparator for comparing the first temperature signal with a first predetermined temperature threshold signal; a decoder coupled to the comparator, the decoder generating a voltage/clock control signal, responsive to said comparator; adjustable on-chip voltage regulator means, coupled to the decoder; clock selector means, coupled to the decoder;
wherein the voltage regulator means and the clock selector means include means for cooperatively varying the voltage and the frequency of the functional unit to a predetermined voltage-frequency pair; andswitching factor means for varying the switching factor of the circuit wherein the switching factor is a fraction of clock cycles that the circuit is dissipating power, wherein said switching factor means is coupled to the comparator.
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Specification